Bizarre but beautiful
UCSB alum promoted at UC Riverside Mike Magpayo has been named the head coach of the UC Riverside men’s basketball program - A7
OUR 165TH YEAR
Pink Flame Tree stands out on Santa Barbara streets - B1
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S AT U R DAY, J U LY 4 , 2 0 2 0
Big screen success
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has ordered the closure of all county beaches through Sunday.
County not reporting COVID numbers during holiday weekend 124 new cases reported to state Dept. of Public Health By JORGE MERCADO NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Closed in early 2019, the West Wind Drive-In reopened its doors on Memorial Day in Goleta. It has proven to be a popular activity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Goleta’s drive-in theater becomes coronavirus hit
Despite stern messaging from Gov. Gavin Newsome reminding the public that the coronavirus pandemic does not let up during the holiday weekend, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will not be providing updates to the county’s COVID-19 cases this weekend in observance of the Fourth of July. The department tweeted Thursday that it would not be providing updates online, via press releases or press conference. The department’s post came at 11:45 a.m. Thursday, nearly five hours after the governor posted the following: “REMINDER: #COVID19 does
not take the summer off. Does not take the weekend off. And will not take 4th of July off.” The news also follows consecutive days of the county reporting over 100 new cases during this most recent spike. While the health department is not providing updates to the media or the public, it is still required to provide data to the state Department of Public Health. On Friday, the county reported 124 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 3,385. The state data does not include demographic information or where the new cases are being reported. A new COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed at the Santa Please see COVID on A3
By CHRISTIAN WHITTLE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
When the Santa Barbara area first entered into Stage 3 of the county’s reopening plan, it looked like locals could enjoy the latest summer blockbusters after all as theaters prepared to open with strict social distancing and sanitization protocols. Unfortunately, Gov. Gavin Newsom reversed the decision Wednesday, seemingly keeping the summer movie magic at home for 2020. Luckily for Santa Barbara, we now have another option: the recently reopened West Wind Santa Barbara Drive-In Theater at 907 S. Kellogg Ave. in Goleta. The theater closed in April 2019, but thanks to calls from the community to reopen and an opportunity to “corner the market” on moviegoing during COVID-19, West Wind began screening movies once more on Memorial Day. Now that it has reopened, the theater has proved a popular activity during the coronavirus pandemic, offering the community a chance to get outside the house to enjoy a classic American experience. Every night of the week, families and friends have been piling into sedans, SUVs and pickups and lining up in rows in front of the giant old screen right by the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. Moviegoers can choose to stay in their car seats, bring beach chairs or face their trunks towards the screen and spread out in the back. Visitors can also grab
Several tasting rooms, such as LaFond Winery at 111 E. Yanonali St., are required to serve outdoors to continue operating. Every night of the week families and friends pile into sedans, SUVs and pickups and line up in rows in front of the giant old screen right by the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport.
popcorn and candy at the retro snack stand before heading back to their cars and tuning into 102.1 FM to hear the movie through their car stereo. Tickets are $8.75 and $2 for children 5 to 11. The West Wind theater is featuring a variety of family-friendly movies like “The Jungle Book,” “Jurassic World,” “Knives Out” and “Kung Fu Panda.” Some of the most popular showings have been “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Star Trek” (2009) in a double feature with “Star Trek Into Darkness” (2013). “I love it!” said Amanda Payatt, a longtime West Wind DriveIn fan. “I like to get there early
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and kind of walk around. It’s just wonderful and uplifting to see all these families and friends and couples having fun enjoying the communal experience, even if everyone is wearing masks and parked 6 feet apart, and they’re having people park away from each other. You can still see everybody and it’s a wonderful kind of expression of community,” Ms. Payatt and her family have been visiting the drive-in since they moved to Santa Barbara 25 years ago. “It was fun! We’d go with our son. We get there early, and people are running around in the back where there are no
cars and throwing frisbees and playing games. It’s a really nice experience,” said Ms. Payatt. Many moviegoers at the West Wind have fond memories of visiting the drive-in in their youth, both here in Goleta and in their hometown. Garrett Headley visited the drive-in all throughout his childhood in Santa Barbara and during his college years at UCSB, and was thrilled to find out it had reopened. “I was totally excited. I check pretty much every night to see what’s going to be here,” he told the News-Press. Please see THEATER on A8
Luhnow calls for support of SB police officers By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Santa Barbara Police Chief Lori Luhnow published a letter to Nextdoor earlier this week, addressing the department’s community dialogue and deescalation techniques while also calling for support for the members of the department. “Communication is fundamental to how we relate to one another. People are
able to convey how they see and experience the world through communication,” she wrote. “We are able to develop empathy and change our views of the world through listening to other’s perspectives. We also send strong and impactful messages by what we choose Not to say. I have recently listened to, and spoken, much about contemporary policing, police Please see POLICE on A2
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